The Secret Sons: Part I
by saberkite
Summary: The Wizarding world is now a peaceful place, years after Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort. However, there are some things that happened back then that are now being revealed. What does this mean for the Potter-Weasley clan? Post DH.
1. Chapter 1: The Tribute

**The Secret Sons**

_I do not own Harry Potter or anything in the series/franchise. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm just taking some liberties with it. Hope you like it._

I.

She stood back from the crowd, not too near to be considered a part of it, yet not to far to merit any attention. She was a slight figure in a dark hooded cape, covering dress robes that were somewhat shabby but still serviceable. One hand clutched it close, while the other held an umbrella shielding her from the rain that was beating down on the mourners.

She was surprised to hear about the service. Despite her little knowledge on the goings-on of the Wizarding world and the events that had recently passed, she knew that the man they were burying today wasn't that well thought of by many. Yet they came in droves today: members of the Ministry of Magic, professors from Hogwarts whom she recognized during her short stay there years ago, even people she occasionally saw on the street of Statford, where she resided.

In front of the crowd stood several people she didn't recognize. Majority of them had red hair of various shades, their faces bearing enough similarities that marked them as a family. With them was a young man with a shock of disheveled black hair and bright green eyes not quite hidden behind his glasses. When he lifted his hand to his forehead, she noticed the lightning shaped scar. Harry Potter.

He was flanked by a tall young man also with bright red hair, and a serenely beautiful young woman with brown hair tied back. Neither one was touching Harry, but they showed a united front, one of which she approved and understood. She knew that they were his best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermionie Granger.

A man wearing stately wizard robes walked up to Harry, who leaned down to listen to what he had to say. The Boy Who Lived straightened, nodded and walked out to face the crowd. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak.

"I thank you all for coming today. Truly, I was surprised by your attendance, as I had never let people know that we were having this service.

"I know Severus Snape wasn't the most popular amongst the teachers of Hogwarts, and that many didn't trust him, despite the assurances Professor Dumbledore gave about him and his character. Even my own father and his friends didn't fully trust him, thus the wide gap between them and Professor Snape."

Here Harry paused, and glanced at his friends. Hermionie was clutching Ron's arm, looking at him worriedly. Beside her was Ginny, and she gave Harry a small nod, encouraging him to go on.

"In the light of the recent events, I have come to know this man. Oh, I can't claim to know much, as I too was consumed by anger at him, seeing what he had done and believing that he had done it for Lord Voldemort. Those who were there during that last battle heard what I said. Severus Snape was never Voldemort's man. Severus Snape was Dumbledore's, from the moment Voldemort made movements to kill the woman he loved from childhood.

"I believe now that I wasn't --- none of us, meant to know who Severus really was and what he was to do. In the end, it was all revealed to me, and I learned that the man I so despised was the man I was supposed to be in great debt for."

Harry gazed out to the crowd, his eyes unashamedly brimming with tears. "I owe Severus Snape many thanks, and I owe him an apology. He is not a coward, as I had thought, but rather, he was the bravest man I had ever met."

He stepped back from the crowd, back to his friends. He reached for Ginny's hand and felt her warmth envelop him. He knew he could never repay Severus in any way, but he hoped that somehow, the man knew that he was grateful.

Far back from the crowd, the woman let her tears silently flow. Harry Potter's words were a balm to her soul.

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Author's Notes: Well, I finally decided to upload this. It's still a work in progress, so please bear with me. I've been reading Harry Potter since it came out and have been a fangirl for nearly that long. However, I'm am aware that I'm too familiar with their world, and am sometimes too lazy to research. This was born out of a random ramble after finishing "Deathly Hallows." I guess you might have an idea where it'll go, especially when you go on to the next chapters. I'd love some constructive feedback, and if you catch some inconsistencies, wrong grammar or spelling that I've missed, let me know (if possible, nicely :D).


	2. Chapter 2: On to Hogwarts

II. On to Hogwarts

"Mother, don't fuss. I'll be all right," Eleven year old Tobias Ellewood assured his mother, who was quietly fussing over him.

Felicia Ellewood brushed back her son's dark hair and smiled. Toby was acting like a young man, but his eye belied the excitement he was feeling. He was mature for his age, acting as the man of the house and his mother's protector, but once in a while, she saw a glimpse of the little boy he was supposed to be, and was glad that he hadn't fully lost it. He wasn't taller than she was, but in a year or two, Felicia knew that he would tower over her. He may look like her, but his build and his dark hair was all his father's.

"I know dear, but you have to allow me this. I am your mother, after all," she said.

Toby looked at the woman who he loved more than anything in the world. She was younger than most of his friends' mothers, and was also his friend. He never really got into fights with her, unlike his other friends who always seemed to have something to complain about their own mothers. Even with the absence of his father, he didn't feel deprived. His mother was everything.

Suddenly caught by a sense of melancholy, Toby walked to his mother and hugged her. "I love you Mother."

Felicia hugged him back, tears shining in her eyes. "I love you Toby."

They stood there for a few minutes until the train conductor shouted "All aboard!" Parents gave their children last minute hugs and reminders, pushing them on the Hogwarts express. Toby's hands tightened around his mother's before he boarded the train. As it pulled out of the platform, he stood by the door, watching her watch him, until he could see her no longer.

Toby made his way to through the train, looking for an empty compartment. Most were already occupied by students who he presumed where second years and up, seeing as they already knew each other, calling greetings as they went past. Some looked at him with knowing smiles, making him a bit uneasy knowing they saw him as a lowly first year. But they weren't unfriendly, and he dared to smile back.

Towards the back of the carriage, the noise dwindled to a low hum, as most of the students converged at the middle. Here Toby found the compartments to be less occupied, sometimes having just two to three students compared to the jam-packed ones he had walked past. To his relief, the last compartment was empty. Not that Toby was anti-social by any means, but he thought that there was enough time to make friends when he got to Hogwarts. Right now, he was happy to spend some time on his own and get his bearings. He sat on the seat by the window and pulled out a book from the satchel he was carrying.

A few minutes into his reading, the compartment door slid open and a boy about his age slipped in. Toby threw him a cursory glance and went back to his book, then looked back at the boy. He had his back to Toby, peering out against the glass of the compartment, and he was breathing rather heavily, as if he had been running. He was still in Muggle clothes, with a satchel similar to Toby's slung over his shoulder. Ordinarily, Toby would go back to his book and ignore the boy, but what made him take a second look was that the boy had bright blue hair.

Toby was rarely surprised by things in the wizarding world, with a mother who came from a pureblood family. He may not have a father, but he certainly did have uncles and cousins who were strong influences in his life. A change of hair color was something not unusual, but seeing it on someone his age (and heading off to school to boot) was unexpected.

He must have made made some sound, because the boy turned. A wary look crossed his features as the two boys looked at each other. Realizing that maybe Tony was harmless, the blue-haired boy slowly walked to the seat across him.

"You a first year?" Blue Hair asked, as he lifted his satchel and sat down.

Toby nodded. "You?"

"Yeah." Blue Hair took a deep breath. "Sorry to barge in on you like this. McNair was following me and this is the only place I could run into."

Toby shook his head. "No problem. I don't think anyone would venture out here. Most kids decided to stay in the middle of the train." He cocked his head thoughtfully. "McNair? Tom McNair, tall somewhat hulking boy with a permanent scowl on his face?"

The blue-haired boy laughed. "Yeah, that one. I tripped over his luggage at the platform and he got mad." A rueful expression crossed the boy's face. "Which is ironic because I should be the one who's mad coz I got hurt."

"That's McNair all right. I suppose he said that you nicked his precious luggage that it's made from some animal?"

"Yeah! That's exactly that he said! You know McNair?"

Toby sighed and closed his book. "Unfortunately. My mother used to work for his family, and I tagged along sometimes. He's a git."

Blue Hair shot him a knowing look. "You got the receiving end of his temper too?"

"Not to mention his stupidity," Toby said.

Their eyes met and simultaneously, they burst into laughter. Unfortunately for Tom McNair, his reputation for being as dumb as he is as big preceded him.

The blue haired boy stuck his hand out to Toby. "I'm Teddy Lupin. Thanks for letting me stay here."

Toby took the offered hand and shook it. "Toby Ellewood. No problem, it's not as if I own this compartment."

Teddy laughed. "True, but you got here first, and could've thrown me out if you wanted. You're bigger than me."

Toby just shrugged. "Too much effort. Besides, I was too surprised by your hair."

"Oh?" Teddy lifted a hand to his hair. "Oh." He laughed. "Oh yeah, that's another reason why McNair was intent on following me. Probably to torture and figure out how I do it."

"Sorry? Do what?"

"This." To Toby's amazement, Teddy's hair changed from the bright blue to a shocking shade of purple, then to egg yolk yellow, moving to a lime green and then to candy apple red. The color change in itself was shocking, but for each color shift, the hair length and style changed. First it was short and blue, then longish, then a mohawk and so on. Finally, the hair changed into an untidy shock of mousy brown hair. Teddy grinned at the amazement on Toby's face. "Cool huh?"

Toby forced his slack jaw to close. "How in the world did you do that? That's some pretty advanced Transfiguration!"

His new friend smiled. "Nah. I didn't use any magic for that. I'm a Metamorphagus," he explained, waited for the inevitable question of "What's that?"

To Teddy's surprise, Toby didn't ask. Instead, he just continued gaping. "Shut up!" Toby exclaimed. "Really? But Metamorphagus are extremely rare! There's often just one in fifty people usually, and often skips generations! That's amazing! Do you have any other Metamorphagus in your family?"

Teddy blinked. He didn't expect anyone, especially kids his age, to know what a Metamorphagus is. "You know about Metamorphagus?" He asked Toby.

"Yeah. I read something about it way back. It's a pretty interesting topic you know. In the last ten years only about twenty Metamorphagus were noted here in Great Britain, while a lesser number were found in other parts of the world. People with your abilities are highly sought after by the defense branch of any Ministry of Magic." Toby rattled off these facts with ease.

"Well." Teddy was at a loss for words. "I guess you're a bookworm huh?"

Toby felt his face go red. "Uh, yeah."

"Cool. Can I copy your homework when we get them?"

Toby smiled. "Maybe. What'll you give me in return?"

"I can teach you Quidditch," Teddy offered.

Toby scoffed. "I already know Quidditch."

His new friend thought for a moment. "How about if I give you an autographed picture of a famous Quidditch player?"

"Who?"

"Ginny Weasley, er, Potter."

"Get out," Toby said, crossing his arms. "She doesn't like giving interviews and is stingy with autographs. How can you get one?"

Teddy's smile was smug. "I can."

Toby looked at Teddy, as if trying to figure him out. Teddy, suddenly became uneasy, not because he couldn't get the said autographed picture, but because he felt like Toby was probing into his mind, albeit unintentionally. He relaxed when Toby smiled.

"Ok, but maybe not copy. We'll get into trouble for that. I could help you and you make the effort to make it look like you made it on your own." He stuck his hand out.

Teddy took it. "Deal."

The two boys grinned at each other. It was as if the handshake wasn't just sealing the trade off, but a foundation of a new friendship.

***

Despite his out-worldliness, Toby couldn't help but feel giddy as the train pulled up at Hogwarts. Dusk was falling, and the students were piling out of the train on to the platform. There was a quiet hum of excitement among the younger kids, and Toby was caught up in it. He looked at his new friend, who had a grin on his face that Toby was sure mirrored his own.

Over the noise of the students, a loud voice called out "First years over 'ere please! First years!" and Toby saw a lamp swaying high up in the dark.

"Come on." Teddy touched his shoulder and jerked his head at the direction of the voice. "I'll introduce you to Hagrid."

Toby hooked his satchel over his shoulder and followed Teddy. "Who's Hagrid? And why aren't we going with the rest of the students?"

"Hagrid's a professor here, and he's in charge of bringing the first years to the castle. I dunno why we have to go to the lake, but it's tradition," Teddy replied. His face broke into a grin. "Hey Hagrid!"

For the second time that day, Toby felt his mouth open in disbelief. What he thought of as a huge tree trunk covered with an odd assortment of clothes was actually a man. A big man, probably ten feet tall, with a wide, round face, messy hair with pieces of twig stuck in it and hands that looked like it could easily crush a coconut. Toby gulped. He wasn't easily scared, but this man could easily take him down. "Teddy?" He whispered.

His friend didn't seem to hear him. Instead, he walked closer to the giant man and tugged on his clothes. The man turned and looked down. Toby was prepared to see Teddy fly but to his astonishment, Hagrid beamed down on Teddy. It didn't make him less scary, but his face became much friendlier.

"Hey Teddy!" Hagrid placed a big hand on the boy's shoulder, and Toby was scared his new friend might get crushed. "Finally here at Hogwarts are ye? First of teh family!"

"Yeah," Teddy looked bashful. "Oh, Hagrid, I'd like you to meet my friend Toby Ellewood. We met on the Express. Toby, this is Hagrid. He's a good friend of my family and he teaches here."

Toby gulped and stepped forward. "Pleased to met you sir," he said, unsure if he should hold his hand out for a shake. He settled for a wave instead.

Hagrid laughed. "Don't call me sir jus' yet Toby. Mebbe when we're in class. Pleased to meet yeh. Any friend of Teddy is a friend of mine. C'mon now, get on the boat. We need teh be at the castle soon."

The half-giant (Teddy whispered this fact to Toby as they joined the other first years) guided the children onto the boats. Teddy and Toby sat on the last boat with Hagrid, who could take an entire boat for himself but said that the weight of two young boys barely made a difference.

They floated across the dark, quiet lake. In the distance, Hogwarts rose majestically out of the darkness, lit up by thousands of candles inside. Toby couldn't help but stare at it in awe.

"Beautiful innit?" Hagrid asked. "I could never get tired of how it looks, even after all these years."

"Yeah," Toby could only whisper in reply.

Too soon they were docked on the shore, and Hagrid was guiding them to the castle doors. Toby didn't know where to look first. He wanted to take it all in. His glance met Teddy's, and he was gratified to see that his friend was as excited as he was.

They followed Hagrid to a set of giant double doors, one that dwarfed even the half-giant. He held up a hand and the first years stopped. Hagrid faced them and with a smile, pushed open the doors. "Welcome to Hogwarts," he said.

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A/N: Well, by now I guess you might have an idea about the basic premise of this story. To be honest, I don't really know where it's going, but I've got a few more chapters done, and will post them soon. Anybody want to be my beta? Though I have to study how the beta system works here on FF. Anyway, I've just finished watching "A Very Potter Musical" on YouTube. I loved it. Ok, on to my next work :)


	3. Chapter 3: The Sorting

III. The Sorting

Years later, Toby would look back on his first day at Hogwarts and fondly call it as "The day where I was nearly speechless with awe." He couldn't recall which was better: riding the Hogwarts express, meeting Teddy and Hagrid, riding the boats across the lake or entering the Great Hall for the Sorting.

Oh he had been told about Hogwarts, and the Great Hall and the places around it by his mother, his uncle and his cousins Stefano and Isobel, but it was nothing like their descriptions. The Great Hall was a throwback to medieval times, maybe even longer than that. Toby didn't know if it was as wide as it was as high, but it looked truly big enough to house a hundred people. He felt nervous walking through it, darting curious glances at the other students who were already seated on the long tables. He spotted his cousins among them: Isobel with the Ravenclaws and Stefano with the Slytherins. Both of them gave him an encouraging smile, and he felt a bit better.

Teddy nudged Toby, and made a gesture for him to look up. When he did, Toby was amazed at the sight. The Great Hall didn't have a ceiling, or at least, he thought it didn't. Instead, he saw the night sky, a inky blue dotted with bright silver stars. He could recognize some of the constellations, and it made him wonder if there really was a ceiling there.

Hagrid led the first years to the front of the Hall, just below the Headmaster's table. A lone stool stood there, with a crumpled looking object sitting on top of it. Hagrid nodded to one of the professors, who stepped out from behind the table and unrolled a parchment. As she did so, the object moved, seemingly straightening itself up until Toby could see that it was a hat of some sort. It moved again, and he saw a rip near the base of the hat. What he didn't expect was the hat to start speaking, singing even. It spoke of the history of Hogwarts and how each house defined a particular set of qualities that each founder prized. Toby didn't have any particular preference as to where he wanted to go. After all, his family was an odd assortment of various houses, and none really cared who went to what. "It's Hogwarts, isn't it? That's all that matters," was what they'd often say.

When the hat had finished speaking (or singing?), the professor with a parchment introduced himself. "My name is Professor Neville Longbottom, and I teach Herbology. I welcome you first years to Hogwarts. When I call your name, please step forward, put on the hat and sit on the stool. You will now be Sorted."

Toby and Teddy looked at each other. For some reason, despite knowing about the process of Sorting, neither knew how it was done. It seemed that there was an unwritten rule that wizards never reveal that to those who were just entering the school, and from the way the other first years were looking at each other, they had similar situations with their families.

Professor Longbottom read the first name off the list. "Abbott, Francine!"

A chubby, pigtailed girl walked towards the hat and gingerly lifted it to her head. It wasn't even on it properly when the hat opened its mouth and yelled "Hufflepuff!" A group of students near the left side cheered, and Neville guided the girl to the Hufflepuff house table. He called the next name and one by one, the students were sorted.

"Guess I'll go before you," Toby quipped to Teddy, trying desperately to mask his nervousness.

"Guess so," Teddy replied. He was nonchalantly standing on one foot, but Toby noticed that his new friend's face was a little pale, and his hair had become mousy brown. Apparently, the young Metamorphagus wasn't as relaxed as he was trying to be. It made Toby grin.

Teddy looked at him skeptically. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Toby shook his head. "I just can't believe I'm here." He was about to say something else when Professor Longbottom called his name.

"Ellewood, Tobias!"

Teddy gave him a quick grin and said, "Good luck mate." Toby nodded and with a gulp, he stepped forward.

The hat was truly old. The velvet material felt like it could crumple anytime as he picked it up. He gingerly sat on the stool and put the Sorting Hat on.

"Hmm, and who is this?"

Toby jumped at the voice in his head. The hat spoke to him! "Er, hi?" he timidly replied.

"Don't be afraid boy. I may have a mouth but I can't bite," the hat laughed at that. "Well, no time for chit chat, let's get down to business. I see you have a thirst for yearning, and you want to be the best in academics making you perfect for Ravenclaw. However, you also have a kind heart and you don't like seeing people in fights, a quality that the Hufflepuffs value. I also sense a certain streak of cunningness, for which you will be able to use with the Slytherin house. Yet inside you runs the blood of a truly brave man, one who would do anything for those he loves." The hat became silent at that.

"Man? What man? Whose blood? Are you talking about my uncle?" Toby asked the hat, who just hemmed and hawed.

"The answers to those questions will come in time my boy, but in meantime, the most pressing question would be is where to put you?"

Toby shrugged. "I don't mind anywhere, really. My family's a mix of various houses, so anywhere's ok."

"Very well." Toby felt the hat move and what it said next echoed deeply in his mind. "I shall put you in... Gryffindor!"

The sound of clapping was deafening as he pulled off the hat. Toby stumbled off the stool and he felt a pair of hands steady him. Looking up he saw the friendly face of Professor Longbottom. "Congratulations Toby, welcome to Gryffindor." With a gently push, he bade Toby to the direction of a table to the right.

Toby smiled at the others who clapped hands to his back or shook his hand. He sat down and turned back to the remaining first years. Teddy smiled at him and gave him the thumbs up sign, and Toby gave one back. Sorting wasn't so bad after all.

***

The rest of the night passed by in a blur. Teddy was sorted to Gryffindor as well, making Toby happy that he at least had one friend in his house. Everyone else had been friendly, but it was comforting to have someone he already knew, even for just a short time. What made it even better was that they were roommates, along with two other first year boys Ericsson Cane and Travis Maxwell.

During dinner, Stefano and Isobel walked over to Toby. "Congratulations Toby! Getting in Gryffindor!" Isobel gave him a hug. She was three years older than he was, and was a tall blonde with a beautiful face. Toby noticed that many of the boys in his table were looking at her.

"Yeah, mate. Yet another notch to our family's house diversity," Stefano said, laughing. He was older than Isobel by a year, and looked her opposite, at least in coloring. Toby couldn't help but preen a bit with their attention. His cousins were both achievers, and he always wanted to be like them. They grew up close to each other, and many thought they were siblings rather than cousins.

"Thanks," he bashfully replied. "I'm nervous though, but excited as well. I can't believe I'm here with you two!"

Stefano laughed. "Hogwarts is amazing! 'Course, studying's a bit overrated, but the place in itself is amazing. The professors are good too." He nodded towards the head table. "You have Longbottom as your Head of House. He's strict, but fair and approachable."

Isobel nudged her brother. "Ease up a bit on the older brother routine, Stefan." She smiled at Toby. "You'll probably need to take some time to settle in. We'll leave you be, but I hope to see you this weekend! We'll need to catch up."

Toby nodded. "I'd like that." From the corner of his eye, he was Teddy approach. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," Teddy smiled, glancing at Isobel and blushing. "Professor Longbottom's ready to take us up to our dormitories."

"Alright. Oh, Teddy Lupin, these are my cousins, Isobel and Stefano Ellewood of Ravenclaw and Slytherin respectively."

Teddy blushed even more when he shook Isobel's smile, but when he faced Stefano, his eyes nearly bugged out. "You're Stefano Ellewood? The Slytherin Seeker? Wow! It's great to meet you!"

Stefano was amused. "The what? Yeah, I'm the Seeker for our house, but I didn't know it was treated with capital letters."

"Oh yeah. My uncles saw you play a couple of times in the past years. They're not really fans of your house, but they admit that you're a really smashing player," Teddy related enthusiastically.

"Wow, well, I'm honored." Stefano gave Isobel a glance and got a smirk back. Despite being really good at Quidditch, there was one thing Stefano hated, and it was attention. "Can you thank them for me, Ted?"

Teddy nodded, awed by the use of what he thinks of as his more mature nickname.

Isobel spoke up. "I see Professor Longbottom waving to you boys. It's really great to see you here Toby, and it was nice to meet you Teddy. I hope to see more of you both."

"Ditto," said Stefano, giving both boys a cocky two fingered salute.

"Yeah, thanks." Toby said, and watched his cousins saunter off.

Teddy was quiet for a bit, and as they walked over to where the rest of the first year Gryffindors were, he gave Toby a slight punch in the arm. "Why didn't you say you were related to Stefano Ellewood?" He then slapped himself on the forehead. "Why didn't I make the connection?"

His friend laughed. "I didn't realize that my cousin was famous. I mean, he's a good Quidditch player, but I didn't think he was that good."

"You better believe it, if my uncles noticed it. And Isobel! Is she part Veela? I don't think I've seen anyone as beautiful as her."

"Nah, I don't think she is. You think she's pretty?" Toby wondered about that. he did notice that there were many boys hanging out around their house when Isobel was home from Hogwarts, both wizards and Muggles.

"Yeah," Toby replied with a dreamy look in his eyes.

They reached the Gryffindor Tower now, and Professor Longbottom began to explain about the Fat Lady's portrait. After giving them the password, he let them in.

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A/N: I realised that the pacing may be too fast, but since this story will span nearly five years of their stay in Hogwarts, I needed to make it fast. I probably won't even go into details of their early years... These are chapters I've done before, tweaked a bit then published. I also realised that I can't have a beta reader yet haha.

I haven't gone through FF much to see if there are similarly themed stories. I've found and HG/SS one, but one that's like this, not yet. I'm saying right now that whatever similarities there are between the stories are incidental.


	4. Chapter 4: Getting to know each other

It may sound like a cliche, but Toby found Hogwarts absolutely magical. His days were filled with learning and discovery, and even if most of them were confined in the classroom, he didn't mind. Teddy often complained that they were being tortured with the lessons, but Toby knew his friend was as excited as he was. Both boys did well in their classes, Toby with his bookishness and Teddy with sheer cheek.

During the second week of their stay, notices for Quidditch tryouts were posted. Many of the first years excitedly came to try for a position, even though they weren't really supposed to. Teddy said it was because Harry Potter made the team during his first year that many students in the years after wanted to get in.

"Of course," Teddy said, "No one has yet to meet the skills he had during his age. Even his wife wasn't that good when she was eleven, and she grew up playing Quidditch with her brothers."

The two were sitting high up in the pitch bleachers, watching as their house captain, Reagan McNamara, give instructions on how the tryouts were going. He started with the Beaters first, then the Chasers. He was trying out for the Keepers now, and after the Seeker tryouts, he'll announce whoever makes the team. There would be fourteen members all in all, seven for the main team, seven for the reserve (which, as often was the case, were needed given the sheer physical demands of the game).

Toby enjoyed talking about Quidditch with Teddy. His young friend was very knowlegable about the sport, almost as knowlegable as Stefano, who was the biggest Quidditch geek Toby knew. Though he really didn't play the sport much, Toby enjoyed it and had enough knowlege about it of his own.

"I'll probably try out for Keeper next year," Teddy said. "I'll practice as much as I could with my godfather over the summer. You trying out?" He asked Toby.

Toby shook his head. "I'm a fair player, but I'm not interested in playing the game. I'd much rather think of strategies for winning, maybe work as a non-playing assistant coach if McNamara and Madame Hooch would let me."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea." Teddy thought his friend was rather good at analysing game strategies for someone who didn't really like to play the game. "Maybe this summer you could go with me and talk with Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron about that."

"Who?" Toby asked. In the two weeks he'd known Teddy, his friend talked a lot about his uncles and aunts, mostly in a casual, nonchalant way that Toby realized was purely Teddy.

"My uncles. Well, Harry's my godfather, and Ron's his best friend and brother-in-law. There's no blood relation between us but I grew up with them so I call them my uncles, and their family's my family," Teddy explained.

Toby felt confused. "Uh, ok. But what about your parents?"

Teddy gave him a surprised look. "I didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"I'm an orphan."

Toby's face fell. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean... Uh." He closed his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Teddy laughed at his friend's discomfort. "Nah, it's no big deal. It's not a secret either." He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I though everyone knew."

Toby shook his head. "Not my business to pry, Teddy. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."

"Nah. Seriously mate, I really thought you knew, especially after I said my name to you on the train and given how much of a bloody bookworm you are." Teddy threw him a grin.

"Really? Why so?" Toby quickly racked his brains for anything he read about a Teddy or a Lupin or a Theodore Remus Lu... he stopped short. "Your name is Theodore Remus Lupin?"

Teddy nodded, a bemused look crossing his face.

"That's one of the fallen heroes of the Second War, the one where the Dark Lord was defeated. Remus Lupin was a werewolf, who married Nymphadora Tonks, a Metamorphagus and they..." he stopped.

"Died," Teddy finished for him. "Yeah. They're my parents."

Neither boy didn't say anything for a few minutes, concentrating instead on the action on the pitch below. McNamara was screaming at two second years who both had bloody noses, and had to be restrained by his chosen Keeper, Cyrus Carrington, and one of the new Beaters, Hannah Delorean.

Teddy spoke up first. "I do wonder about my parents, and my uncles and grandmum have been great at telling me about them. I miss them in a way, but I've got a family, and my uncle Harry has been great. He was an orphan too, and he knows what it's like to be alone. Still, he didn't have the Weasleys until he turned eleven, and I've pretty much got them from the moment I was born, so it's good."

Toby's quick mind processed the information, noting the familiar names. "Weasleys?" He then turned to Teddy. "Holy Harpies! You mean to tell me your Uncle Harry is Harry Potter, and Uncle Ron is Ron Weasley?"

"Yeah," Teddy replied. He looked at Toby intently. "You really didn't know?"

His friend shook his head.

"You must be a tad mental," Teddy replied with a laugh. "And here I thought we were best mates."

"It's been only two weeks," Toby said grudgingly, though pleased that Teddy considered him his best mate already.

"True, but I figured I said enough and did enough for you to know. Besides, someone smart like you could've noted that from the start." Teddy said it matter-of-factly, so Toby wasn't insulted. He just shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, I suppose," he muttered.

"Yeah," Teddy replied.

"So can I still come over for the summer?"

"You bet. You'll be the first friend I have over. I'll owl Uncle Harry and tell him."

Toby couldn't hold back his grin. "Cool."

----

Ok, not much to go on with this one. I'm going to have to start writing because I've run out of the stock stuff I have. I hope to get some reviews because, well, I just realised that even though I say I write mainly for me, I'd love to hear what you think. :)


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